Virginia Tech Hokies Go for Second Straight ACC Title

ACC Championship Game
Tampa, FL
Virginia Tech vs. Boston College
Saturday, 1:00 PM
Line: Pick'em

Virginia Tech and Boston College meet in a rematch of a midseason game and a rematch of the 2007 ACC Championship Game.

Back in October, the Eagles beat Va. Tech 28-23 in Chestnut Hill. But the same happened last season when BC defeated VT, but then lost to the Hokies for the ACC title. The prize for the winner is an Orange Bowl berth, but the loser may fall all the way to the Music City Bowl.

The Last Time They Met

BC came from down 10-0 in the first quarter to hand No. 17 Virginia Tech the loss. The Eagles exploded for 21 points in the second quarter and held VT to two second half field goals.

Boston College overcame five turnovers, including two interception returns for TD by Va. Tech and just 82 yards of rushing offense. Their defense played excellently, holding the Hokies to just 240 total yards.

Keys to the Game

1. What kind of offense can Virginia Tech muster?

I may be wrong, but I don't think VT can count on five BC turnovers again to stay in this one. The Hokies have struggled all year on offense so much as to use a TE in the QB position at times.

A bright spot could be freshman tailback Darren Evans who had a monster game against Maryland. If the Hokies could get him going then it would take some pressure off the run first, run second, pass third option in QB Tyrod Taylor's playbook. If Evans plays similarly to the way he did against Maryland, I like VT's chances.

2. Play of Dominique Davis

Who? He is Boston College's starting QB now that Chris Crane is out with a broken collarbone. Davis played pretty well last week against Maryland throwing for 134 yards and two touchdowns.

Still, he is inexperienced and had some turnover troubles against Wake Forest the previous week. Virginia Tech's defense is better than the two he has faced. If Davis plays a solid game and is turnover free, I really like BC's chances.

Prediction

The line on this game isn't giving an edge to either team and I can see why. The stats add up to a Boston College win, but you don't know how they will play without Crane, and it is always tougher to beat a team a second time.

Still, the Hokies' offense (or lack thereof) really scares me. To pick them to win means you are counting on a big game from Evans at running back or a disastrous game for BC with turnovers, but they already turned it over five times this season and won.

I gotta go with the team with fewer unknowns and that is Boston College.

Boston College 24 Virginia Tech 21
Boston College covers -0

Last Week: 2-7-1 ATS, 6-4 SU
Season: 31-28-3 ATS, 40-22 SU

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